Summer fruits and Madeleine Charlotte cake

Light and fluffy strawberry mousse topped with fresh summer fruit, all held beautifully in place with Bonne Maman Madeleines, this delicious dessert is perfect for weekend picnics and summer parties. Using buttery Bonne Maman Madeleines instead of the usual sponge fingers gives this dessert a traditional French twist and is guaranteed to impress your party guests.

For the syrup:1) In a saucepan, mix the sugar and water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes.Leave to cool.2) Wash 100g of strawberries, remove the stems and liquidise in a food process orto make a coulis.3) Pass the coulis through a fine sieve to collect all the seeds.4) When the sugar syrup is cool, mix with the coulis and put to one side.

For the mousse:1) Wash 300g strawberries and remove the stems.2)Heat the strawberries in a small saucepan with 50g of golden caster sugar to create a puree.3) Cover the gelatine leaves with cold water in a separate bowl.4) In a separate bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks with the remaining 50g of golden caster sugar.5) Pour the hot strawberry puree on to the yolk and sugar mixture and whisk continuously.6) Put the strawberry puree, yolk and sugar mixture back in to a saucepan and heat whilst continually mixing until the puree thickens and coats the back of a spoon.7) Drain the gelatine and add it to the hot strawberry puree. Put it to one side to cool.8) Use an electric hand whisk to whip 300ml of cream in to soft peaks, adding the vanilla bean paste half way through.9) When the strawberry puree is cold, fold in the whipped cream in two stages to cre ate a smooth and creamy mousse.

To build the Bonne Maman Madeleine Charlotte cake:1) Line a 22cm in diameter springform tin with baking paper.2) Cut the Bonne Maman Madeleines in half length ways and line the tin with the curved sides against the wall of the tin.3) Fill the bottom of the tin with the other Bonne Maman Madeleines halves – cut them to if need be.4) Using a pastry brush, paint the Bonne Maman Madeleines with the syrup made at the very beginning.5) Using a ladle cover the Bonne Maman Madeleines with the mousse.6) Repeat the process – add Bonne Maman Madeleines, paint with syrup and add mousse. Make sure you leave a small gap between the layer of mousse and the top of the Bonne Maman Madeleines.7) Place the cake in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours.8) When set, gently remove the tin and put on a serving plate or cake stand.9) Decorate with mixed summer fruits and enjoy!